10 years later EA Sports copies Nike

In 1994 W+K created "The Wall" for Nike. Famous football players (soccer to the Americans) on buildings head, kick, and pass a soccer ball to various cities around the world.
In 2004, EA Sports aired "Traveling Mural" for their Street Football video game where football (the American kind) players pass, tackle, and rush from building to builing.

Read more to see the original commercial and the copy ad.

Nike - "The Wall"

Agency: Wieden & Kennedy, Amsterdam
Account Executive: Randy Browning
Agency Producers: Derek Ruddy, Jane Brimblecombe
Art Director: Warren Eakins
Cinematographer: Joe Pytka
Copywriter: Bob Moore
Creative Directors: Bob Moore, Warren Eakins
Director: Joe Pytka
Editing Company: Red Car
Editor: Rob Watzke
Producer: Lilly Weingarten
Production Company: PYTKA, Venice

EA Sports - "Traveling Mural"

AGENCY: See
Agency Producer: Robyn Wilkinson
Agency Creative Director: Mike Lewis/Peter Crosby
Agency Art Director: Mike Lewis
Agency Copy Writer: Peter Crosby
PRODUCTION COMPANY (as well as POST):
Production Company: Motion Theory
Director: Motion Theory
DP: Jo Molitoris
Line Producer: Bo Platt
Executive Producer: Javier Jimenez
Creative Directors: Grady Hall, Mathew Cullen
Art Director: Kaan Atilla
Design & 3D: Irene Park, Mark Kudsi, John Clark, Chris De St Jeor
Editorial: Motion Theory
Editor Off-Line/On-Line: Mark Hoffman
Assistant Editor: Brad Watanabe
Post Production Supervisor: James Taylor
Colorist: Bob Festa, Riot
Music: X-Ecutioners
Mix: One Union SF

The Nike spot won at Clio, Epica, and Andys in 1995.src="adland.tv/ike-wall-1994-40-netherlands">Nike - "The Wall"

Agency: Wieden & Kennedy, Amsterdam
Account Executive: Randy Browning
Agency Producers: Derek Ruddy, Jane Brimblecombe
Art Director: Warren Eakins
Cinematographer: Joe Pytka
Copywriter: Bob Moore
Creative Directors: Bob Moore, Warren Eakins
Director: Joe Pytka
Editing Company: Red Car
Editor: Rob Watzke
Producer: Lilly Weingarten
Production Company: PYTKA, Venice

EA Sports - "Traveling Mural"

AGENCY: See
Agency Producer: Robyn Wilkinson
Agency Creative Director: Mike Lewis/Peter Crosby
Agency Art Director: Mike Lewis
Agency Copy Writer: Peter Crosby
PRODUCTION COMPANY (as well as POST):
Production Company: Motion Theory
Director: Motion Theory
DP: Jo Molitoris
Line Producer: Bo Platt
Executive Producer: Javier Jimenez
Creative Directors: Grady Hall, Mathew Cullen
Art Director: Kaan Atilla
Design & 3D: Irene Park, Mark Kudsi, John Clark, Chris De St Jeor
Editorial: Motion Theory
Editor Off-Line/On-Line: Mark Hoffman
Assistant Editor: Brad Watanabe
Post Production Supervisor: James Taylor
Colorist: Bob Festa, Riot
Music: X-Ecutioners
Mix: One Union SF

The Nike spot won at Clio, Epica, and Andys in 1995.

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deeped's picture

Hm... somehow I should have guessed that the rip-off was the other way. Nike's ad is beautiful, fantastic and truly starts the imagination. The EA-spot is boring and... simple.

Dabitch's picture

agreed!
Also the Nike ad is around the world, the players are in major cities of their home-countries. Nice geographical touch. :)

troymcclure's picture

Hello, I'm Troy McClure. You may remember me from such websites as www.bedwettersanonymous.com and www.atheistsforjesus.com.

Clearly, the EA commercial is nothing short of grand theft larceny. I will grant the creative team this much: They must have wontons the size of watermelons. I mean, it's one thing to rip off an obscure spot that has faded into the mists of memories. But to blatantly appropriate an internationally acclaimed concept that won enough awards to choke a rabid hippopotamus. . . well, that takes what the late existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre would call chutzpah.

(And yes, I am well aware of the irony of somebody who steals their schtick from a cartoon decrying plagarism.)

blabla's picture

Stick around in Badland friend, and you'll find plenty more - meatballs the size of eh, melons there, and a handful of coincidences, not to mention more award winners, and same visual copied, or illustrators that trace stuff from propaganda posters.... It'll wind you up for sure.

(I've always wanted to that. Sad I know. But funny.)